The present invention related to game rackets having a metallic frame for supporting the strings forming the playing surfaces, and more particularly to a grooved metallic frame racket having flexible string protecting means positively held in position so as to prevent escape from the groove.
The art of manufacture of game rackets, and particularly rackets having a metallic frame has progressed to the stage where the metallic frames will successfully resist the twist and torsional stress during play, thereby making the metallic frame racket an exceedingly popular item. There is, however, a problem of preventing contact of the stringing material, which is laced back and forth across the racket frame to form the playing surface, with the metal and from working against the edges of apertures punched in the metal frame. Protection of the stringing material has been accomplished in several ways, such as by the use of metal or plastic grommets, or plastic strips positioned in an outwardly opened groove in the metallic frame when combined with intricately formed tubular guides which extend through apertures in the frame so as to space the strings away from the metallic surfaces of the apertures. In connection with the use of protective strips, it is a problem to retain the strips in the desired position in the groove of the metal frame during the stringing process, and it frequently happens that the force needed to tension the strings is sufficiently great to cause the protective strips to move out of desired position. Efforts have been made to overcome the problem of retaining the protective strips in position by securing the ends of the strips, but because of the flexibility of the material used for forming the strips the securing of the ends has proved insufficient.
An important object of the present invention is to provide a protective strip with means spaced along its length at suitable intervals to retain the strip in a groove in the frame of the game racket so that the tensioning loads imposed on the strings during the stringing process will not cause the protective strip to become dislodged from its desired position.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide the combination of a metal frame for a game racket; strings supported by said frame to protect said strings from contact with said metal frame; said metal frame having a groove opening outwardly of the frame periphery through an opening of less width than the bottom of said groove; said protective means consisting of a flexible elongated body of a width to pass through said groove opening in either direction, tabs spaced along said flexible body to project laterally therefrom into positions crosswise of said groove, said tabs being foldable along side said elongated body to allow said body to pass into said groove, and string guides spaced at intervals along said body and projecting through the bottom of said groove.
It is an additional object of this invention to provide a stringer strip for a game racket having a metallic head frame formed with a dovetail groove around its outer perimeter and stringing apertures spaced at intervals through the bottom of the dovetail groove; said stringer strip comprising an elongated body with string supporting pads spaced along one side and string guides fitting the head frame stringing apertures to protect the strings from engaging on the metallic head frame and said pads supporting the strings in the dovetail groove between said guides, and means cooperating with said stringer strip and the dovetail groove to hold said stringer strip within the dovetail groove, said holding means having projections at spaced intervals along the length of said stringer strip, said projections being foldable in one direction to permit entry of said stringer strip into the dovetail groove and to block the escape of said stringer strip.
An additional object of this invention is to provide a game racket providing a metallic frame formed from tubular stock shaped into a head having a dovetail groove in its outer margin and a plurality of apertures in the bottom of the groove and spaced at intervals along the groove, a stringer strip having an elongated body with tubular string guides spaced at intervals therealong to match said apertures in the bottom of said dovetail groove, strings laced through said string guides and across the circular head area to form a playing surface, and retainer means cooperating with said stringer strip and said dovetail groove to maintain said stringer strip in said groove, said retainer means being spaced along the length of said stringer strip between the ends thereof.
Still another object of this invention is to provide retainer means for game racket stringer strips in which the retainer means is integral with and foldable against the sides of stringer strip so as to be able to enter the opening in a dovetail groove and thereafter unfold within the dovetail groove to a position capable of resisting removal of the stringer strip.
Other objects and the advantages for this invention will appear in the detailed description of a preferred embodiment.